The Verge

Image: Warner Bros. Wonder Woman 1984 and Hamilton were two of 2020’s biggest films — at least where streaming was concerned. Recent third-party data suggests both releases drove crowds of subscribers to their streaming platforms (HBO Max and Disney Plus, respectively). More than any other movies that debuted online this year, Wonder Woman 1984 and Hamilton drove the most initial signups, according to new data from research firm Antenna. Data from research firm Screen Engine found similar results.But digging into the data shows the successes of both releases are more complicated than they look. Unlike a conventional box office release, streaming success is measured not just in how many people saw the movie, but in how many people stuck around afterward.... Continue reading…

Microsoft Teams While Zoom remains popular for its ease of use and features such as the ability to pop in different backgrounds, it’s not the only video meeting app out there that lets you do those things. For example, Microsoft’s Teams office communications app also allows you to tweak your meeting background. Here, we’ll show you how to change your background for a Teams videoconference.If you want to select a background before you officially begin the meeting:

Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images Amazon announced it purchased 11 used Boeing 767-300 jets from Delta and WestJet, a first for the e-commerce giant. The company has been steadily building up its air cargo capacity over the years through leasing agreements, but this is the first time Amazon has ever owned its own aircraft.The deal comes as airplane prices have dropped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines have been rushing to shrink their fleets as passenger demand plummets amid lockdown orders across the globe. The purchases include seven aircraft from Delta and four aircraft from WestJet, which will join Amazon’s network by 2022, the company says.“Our goal is to continue delivering for customers across the U.S. in the way that they expect from Amazon, and... Continue reading…

By sitting above rather than inside the ear, the earbuds let you hear what’s going on in your environment. | Image: Bose Bose’s latest true wireless earbuds, the Sport Open Earbuds, are designed to keep you aware of your surroundings while you listen. While most other earbuds sit inside the ear canal, blocking out at least some ambient noise, the Sport Open Earbuds instead sit outside it. Bose has officially announced the earbuds a little over a month after their existence was leaked via a Federal Communications Commission filing.A design that lets in ambient noise might sound unintuitive, given how headphone manufacturers (including Bose) spend so much money trying to do the exact opposite with noise-canceling tech. But there are plenty of instances where being aware of your surroundings is a very good thing, like when you’re cycling through traffic or... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Monday, roughly 230 Google employees announced they were forming a union with the Communication Workers of America (CWA). It’s open to employees and contractors at Alphabet, Google’s parent company. As a minority union, it doesn’t need to go through a formal legal process in order to exist. It just needs to announce itself. That part is done. World, meet the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU).The news prompted a wave of support from organizers like Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ellen Pao, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It also led to some questions. What is a minority union? Isn’t 230 members rather small? Why is CWA involved?Here’s what we know so far about the Alphabet Workers Union — and what we are still waiting to find out.Where did... Continue reading…

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge The Xbox Series X feels like a huge PC-like upgrade for your Xbox games, but a fraction of buyers have been experiencing an unusual downgrade as well — the new Xbox Series X gamepad doesn’t seem to stay connected to the console in some games and some situations, according to a 40-page thread in Microsoft’s help forum.The good news: Microsoft knows about the issue, and a fix is on the way. “We are aware some players may be experiencing disconnects with their new Xbox Wireless Controllers and our teams are actively working on a solution to be included in a future update,” a company spokesperson tells The Verge.Again, it’s not clear how widespread this issue truly is — though nearly 1,700 co-signers on a 40-page forum post is enough to... Continue reading…

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is closing down its Minecraft Earth mobile game in June, due to the ongoing pandemic. The ambitious game had aimed to rival Pokémon Go and cover the world in virtual blocks for players to meet and play together.“Minecraft Earth was designed around free movement and collaborative play – two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation,” says the Minecraft team. “As a result, we have made the difficult decision to re-allocate our resources to other areas that provide value to the Minecraft community and to end support for Minecraft Earth in June 2021.”The final build of the game is being released today, which reduces the amount of time it takes to craft in the game and the cost of certain materials.... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge When Facebook lifted its ban on political ads in Georgia, local News Feeds became dramatically more partisan and less informative, according to research published on Tuesday by The Markup.Facebook banned US political advertising in the wake of the November 3rd presidential election as part of its broader effort to fight election misinformation. However, the platform partially lifted the ban on December 16th, allowing ads specific to the Georgia runoff on January 5th.To study the effect of those ads, The Markup paid 58 Facebook users in Georgia to provide data on the content that appeared in their News Feeds in the weeks leading up to the runoff election. The resulting data (which is available on Github) showed a huge change in users’... Continue reading…

Photo by Thomas Krych/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Health care providers in the United States should stick to the two-dose schedule for both authorized COVID-19 vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement this week. Some experts have suggested that delaying the second dose could stretch limited quantities of the vaccines further.Any dose adjustments could be evaluated in clinical trials, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Peter Marks, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “However, at this time, suggesting changes to the FDA-authorized dosing or schedules of these vaccines is premature and not rooted solidly in the available evidence,” they said.Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine takes two doses given 28 days apart, and the... Continue reading…

If you recently purchased a Nintendo Switch or received one as a gift during the holidays, and you want to start building out your game library, Hades is on sale for $20 at Best Buy today.Released last September, Hades is a roguelike hack-and-slash action RPG released by Supergiant Games. Players control Zagreus, the son of Hades, who is trying to fight his way out of the Underworld.The game was one of the more popular titles released last year, winning Best Indie and Best Action Game at the 2020 Game Awards last month. Several of our staff also really enjoyed the game, including news editor Chaim Gartenberg, who said it was his favorite game of 2020.If the Windows PC is your platform of choice, Hades is also on sale on a few... Continue reading…

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Just over a year ago, I spent some time in Austin meeting with Google contractors. They had been hired through Accenture to moderate some of the most disturbing content on YouTube: videos that contain violent extremism, including murders and acts of terrorism. Several told me they had either been diagnosed with or were suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The people I talked with made about $37,000 a year, and several had immigrated to the United States from the Middle East. Many found their working conditions intolerable, but they feared speaking out publicly for fear they would be fired.They were, in short, the sort of people who benefit from membership in a union. But with a handful of exceptions, the labor... Continue reading…

Qualcomm is getting a new CEO: Cristiano Amon, who already serves as president for the company, will replace Steve Mollenkopf, who took over as CEO in 2014. Amon has already served as the public face of the company for some time, presiding over introductions of new products like the Snapdragon 888, making him an obvious choice to succeed Mollenkopf at the helm.Mollenkopf’s tenure as CEO saw Qualcomm face numerous challenges: antitrust accusations, allegations of anticompetitive behavior, and a massive fight with Apple that saw the two companies sever their relationship (before patching things up in a settlement). But he also oversaw Qualcomm’s growth into the juggernaut it is today, one that nearly completely dominates the industry for... Continue reading…

For $300, it’s right on the money Continue reading…

The OnePlus Nord N10 5G. | Image: OnePlus The original OnePlus Nord skipped North America, but OnePlus is finally bringing two cheaper, mid-range options from its Nord line to the US and Canada on January 15th. The OnePlus Nord N10 5G offers flagship standards like a high-refresh rate 90Hz display and fast charging for $299.99 ($389 CAD), while the OnePlus Nord N100 features an even larger display and battery for $179.99 ($239 CAD). After launching in Europe last year, both phones are now carrier-exclusives for T-Mobile and available unlocked from OnePlus and other online retailers in the US.The N10 5G’s 6.49-inch high-refresh rate display, 128GB of expandable storage, and 30W fast charging make it similar to the original Nord. Where it differs is with its lower-tier Snapdragon... Continue reading…

Dell is launching three new monitors next month, and all of them come with a dedicated Microsoft Teams button. Dell claims it has created the “world’s first video conferencing monitors certified for Microsoft Teams,” after Microsoft started certifying displays, webcams, and headsets last year. Three monitors will be available next month, all offering quick access to Microsoft Teams.The button will let Microsoft Teams users quickly launch the app to make and receive video calls. Hands-free commands will also be supported through Cortana and the built-in microphone. Image: Dell Dell’s new Microsoft Teams monitors. This is the first time we’ve seen a Microsoft Teams button on a monitor, but headset manufacturers... Continue reading…

Cync Indoor Camera | Photo: Cync C by GE is starting to see some big changes. The smart lighting brand is getting a new name, Cync, and it’s expanding beyond lighting to become more of a general-purpose smart home brand. The changes follow the sale of GE Lighting to Savant Systems, a luxury smart home company, in May 2020.As Cync, the system is supposed to get a new app in March that’s meant to be more “user-friendly and customizable.” The brand is also launching an outdoor smart plug, a smart switch for ceiling fans, and an indoor security camera — the latter being its first real venture beyond smart plugs, lights, and lighting accessories.The Cync Indoor Camera can record footage to the cloud or to an SD card, and the camera has a built-in privacy shutter that can... Continue reading…

Nintendo has announced plans to acquire Canadian developer Next Level Games, a studio that has worked on some of the company’s major franchises. Next Level is already a second-party partner, meaning it only makes games for Nintendo platforms, but Nintendo says the acquisition will help secure internal development resources and boost collaboration.Next Level is based in Vancouver and is probably best known for developing the second and third Luigi’s Mansion games. Luigi’s Mansion 3 in particular is one of the more technically advanced games available on the Switch, with impressive animation and physics. Other Next Level-developed Nintendo projects include both Super Mario Strikers titles on the GameCube and the Wii, Metroid Prime:... Continue reading…

Xiaomi has announced the Mi 10i, a new phone in its 10 series intended for the Indian market and manufactured in the country — that’s what the “i” stands for, apparently. That said, it’s essentially a rebranded, region-specific version of the Mi 10T Lite 5G, which is itself basically the same thing as the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G.The phone has a 6.67-inch 120Hz 20:9 1080p LCD, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor with an onboard X52 5G modem, and up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The battery is 4,820mAh, and Xiaomi says it should charge from empty to full in 58 minutes at 33W. There’s also a headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and an IR blaster. The main camera uses Samsung’s 108-megapixel ISOCELL HM2... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge As part of its January Pixel updates, Google might have fixed an issue that meant Pixel 5 system sounds could be a lot louder than you might have wanted.Since the Pixel 5’s launch in October, numerous users on Reddit and on Google’s own support forums have reported that Pixel 5 system sounds (like the camera shutter or the sound you hear when you take a screenshot) could be quite loud, even when the phone’s volume was set to a lower level.In the release notes for the January Pixel updates, however, Google says that the Pixel 5-specific update includes “further tuning & improvements for volume level of system sounds.” A few users on Reddit have reported that the system sounds are much quieter after installing the update, though some... Continue reading…

Apple has been shutting down loads of retail stores as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to peak — on December 20th, it temporarily closed every single location in California, Mexico, Brazil, and over a dozen in London. Now, as England and Scotland go into a pair of new national lockdowns, Apple is closing all of its remaining stores in the UK.As 9to5Mac’s Michael Steeber reports, that means 18 additional stores are now closed across the UK, including several in Scotland and one in Belfast, Ireland — though it looks like the Belfast store may have already been closed. (Northern Ireland went into lockdown even earlier, on December 26th, shutting down all non-essential shops.)

Industrial sensor giant Teledyne will acquire FLIR, an Oregon-based company that makes thermal-imaging and night vision technology, the companies announced Monday. The deal is worth $8 billion in a mix of cash and stock.“At the core of both our companies is proprietary sensor technologies. Our business models are also similar: we each provide sensors, cameras and sensor systems to our customers,” Teledyne chairman Robert Mehrabian said in a statement. The companies’ sensors are “uniquely complementary, with minimal overlap,” he added, which could be important when regulators decide whether to approve the acquisition.You probably already know FLIROregon-based FLIR makes thermal-imaging and night-vision technology for the military and... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square, isn’t happy about the new proposed cryptocurrency regulation. He emphasized how the regulation would hurt Square, a financial services company, in a letter posted to the company website.In October, Square bought $50 million in bitcoin. The company also has invested heavily in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, so Square has plenty of skin in the game. The regulations create “unnecessary friction and perverse incentives for cryptocurrency customers to avoid regulated entities for cryptocurrency transactions,” Dorsey writes.The regulation could end up driving customers “to use non-custodial wallets or services outside the U.S.”The regulation, proposed by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network... Continue reading…

Image: Games Done Quick Games Done Quick (GDC), the charity event series that raises money while expert players blast their way through classic games, kicked off its first 2021 iteration yesterday on Twitch, and the event is running all week for anyone interested in tuning in to this year’s speedrunning spotlights.The January event, typically focused on “awesome” games done quick, is on its second day and has some great titles on the schedule over the next few hours, including speedruns of Dishonored 2, Divinity: Original Sin II, and Diablo 3. Later this week, we’ll see speedruns of classics like Final Fantasy VII, Mega-Man, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Check out the full schedule here.GDC has been organizing its charity speedrun... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / Th Slack went down on the first full work day of 2021. The company said Monday morning “Customers may have trouble loading channels or connecting to Slack at this time. Our team is investigating and we will follow up with more information as soon as we have it. We apologize for any disruption caused.”Users began reporting issues around 10AM ET, and the company posted its first status update about the problem at 10:14AM. As of 12:29PM ET, the service appeared to be slowly returning to normal for some users — we here at The Verge were able to transition back to Slack and resume work there at around 1:30PM ET, and we’ve had no disruptions since.At first, Slack was reporting issues with connecting to the service and messaging. An update on... Continue reading…

Image: @HEYimHeroic If you’re Nintendo and you need a bunch of non-playable characters (NPCs) for your soon-to-be smash-hit Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, what do you do? Apparently, you may use your Mii creation tool to generate them. Twitter user and self-proclaimed Mii expert Alice (@HEYimHeroic) has discovered that some of the minor characters in the game’s world (shopkeepers, townsfolk, etc.), are based on Mii characters, and Miis are able to be brought directly into the game — albeit with a fair amount of effort.As with all systems like this, there are edge cases and caveatsIt’s been speculated before that Breath of the Wild’s NPCs were somehow related to Miis (especially after the discovery that their game files were labeled as UMiis), but... Continue reading…

Photo by Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Health departments in many Florida counties are using event management website Eventbrite to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments for the public. Officials told The Verge that the platform was the easiest way to get vaccinations up and running quickly during the initial rollout, which has been confusing for residents and inconsistent across the state.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bumped all adults over the age of 65 to the front of the vaccination line along with health care workers and long-term care facility residents — breaking from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations around vaccine prioritization, which said essential workers should have first access. That opened up vaccine access to over 4 million... Continue reading…

Photo by Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images As the Georgia runoff election nears, Facebook’s messy political ad rules have created new opportunities for operatives and political groups looking to spread disinformation. In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s election, Republican super PACs have used Facebook to spread disinformation targeting Georgia voters in the last few critical days before the state’s special election on Tuesday, January 5th.In one instance, the Republican Party wrongly accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris of conspiring to remove President-elect Joe Biden from office in a Facebook ad, according to The Washington Post. The Senate Leadership Fund has also run false ads suggesting that Democratic Senate candidate Jon... Continue reading…

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Google’s Nest Hub may be getting an update for the first time since its debut in 2018. The company registered a new “interactive device” at the Federal Communications Commission that’ll feature a screen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee support, along with what seems to be Google’s Soli radar gesture technology.Taken together, it seems that Google has a new smart home device of some sort on the way; as 9to5Google points out, that “interactive device” classification is similar to what Google uses for its other smart devices like the original Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini, Nest Wifi, and Nest Audio.Google’s working on something newThe addition of Zigbee — a popular smart home networking standard — would help integrate whatever the new... Continue reading…

The leaked prototype of the OnePlus 9. | Photo: PhoneArena The OnePlus 9 Pro is rumored to feature faster 45W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging for filling up accessories like wireless headphones, according to a post from Max Jambor at Voice.The OnePlus 8 Pro was the first OnePlus device to feature wireless charging, but it was capped at 30W. A bump up to 45W would be a notable increase and could allow for even faster charging speeds than the 8 Pro’s 50 percent charge in 30 minutes. Faster wireless charging might also indicate that the OnePlus 9 Pro could feature the 65W wired charging of the OnePlus 8T, according to 9to5Google. However OnePlus decides to improve charging, it could potentially be useful if other flagship features like an improved display and 5G support drain the... Continue reading…

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge Chinese EV startup Byton has signed a manufacturing deal with iPhone-maker Foxconn, which according to Bloomberg could be worth around $200 million. In exchange, Foxconn — which has been eager to get into electric vehicles — will provide Byton with “advanced manufacturing technology, operation management expertise and supply chain resources.” The two will apparently work together to get Byton’s M-Byte electric SUV across the finish line into production for the Chinese market in 2022.The deal comes at a time when Byton is truly struggling. The startup suspended operations last year amid a cash crunch that was exacerbated by the pandemic and is now extending that suspension until June 2021, according to Bloomberg and local Chinese media... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images PayPal-owned banking app Venmo is launching a check cashing feature for both its Android and iOS apps for “eligible” users in the US, the company announced Monday. Cash a Check will allow users to snap a photo of a check and deposit it into a Venmo account.The review process that makes the funds available should only take a few seconds, but in some cases may take up to an hour, the company says. Fees will apply to most check deposits, but Venmo is waiving the fees for deposits of stimulus checks for a limited time. Its usual fees, according to PayPal’s terms of service, will include a 5 percent check cashing fee for hand-signed payroll and government checks for a minimum fee of $5 and 1 percent fees on payroll or government checks with... Continue reading…

Image: Platinum Games Nier: Automata, the mind-bending roleplaying game from legendary Japanese director Yoko Taro, has one last magnificent secret, discovered nearly four years after the game’s release. The secret, a cheat code you can input in the game’s intro sequence to skip to the very end of the game, was unearthed by modder Lance McDonald, who said he spent hundreds of hours reverse-engineering Nier: Automata to come across this ultra-rare find.For those interested, the cheat is a relatively simple button sequence you must input while positioning main character 2B between a set of barrels during the game’s very first boss fight, something no player would think to do unless they dug deep into the game’s code. Without spoiling much about the game’s... Continue reading…

Persona-heads rejoice: it looks like all the original soundtracks for most of the games are coming to Spotify tomorrow at midnight. That’s right. The news comes courtesy of AniPlaylist, purveyors of fine anime song playlists.

Image: u/TomaccoTastesLikeGma The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are very large consoles — in fact, the PS5 is the biggest game console in modern history. Their sizes can make buying a new entertainment center that can actually fit them somewhat of a challenge. But Ikea has a solution to help you out: the company made physical sizing guides in the form of lookalike boxes to help you figure out which cabinets and entertainment centers can house the new consoles. The sizing guides were photographed by a user on Reddit.The mock boxes are approximately the same shape as the consoles, with measurements written on the side. There’s also some great marketing copy on the PS5 mock box to explain exactly what it should be used for: “Which Ikea media storage unit will be able... Continue reading…

Microsoft’s One Outlook app. Microsoft is testing a new Outlook app that will replace its built-in Mail and Calendar apps on Windows 10. Codenamed Monarch and “One Outlook,” the app is “a new version of Outlook designed for large-screen experiences,” according to a leaked version of the app.While the leaked app isn’t functional without a full internal Microsoft account, the One Outlook app will replace desktop (win32 and UWP) versions of Outlook, Outlook Web Access (OWA), and the macOS desktop client. Microsoft is also hosting the full web version of this new Outlook online.

Image: Discovery Discovery Plus, the new streaming channel from Discovery, launches today and does so on both Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV. That means it’s avoiding the confusion that ensued when HBO Max and Peacock streaming channels launched in 2020 without initial Roku and Fire TV options.“As we go live with Discovery+ today in the US, we are thrilled to be working with best-in-class partners to make it available everywhere our fans are,” David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Inc., said in a statement.Roku is an important partner for new streamers, which brings its audience of approximately 46 million active accounts. WarnerMedia finally reached terms to bring its HBO Max streaming channel to Roku in December after a months-long standoff over... Continue reading…

Image: Hisense Now that we’re past the winter holidays, deals are a little slower than usual. Still, we found a few promos worth telling you about today. One is on Hisense’s 85-inch 4K LED TV (model 85H6510G) at Best Buy. Normally $1,700, it’s just $1,000. This television’s sheer size is what makes this a good deal, especially if you want a big screen to watch the upcoming Super Bowl on.It has some other fine traits as well, like its built-in Android TV software with Chromecast screen mirroring and support for all major streaming apps (aside from Apple TV, which is set to arrive early this year). This Hisense TV has four HDMI ports, and the panel supports Dolby Vision, HDR 10, and HLG standards of HDR.I’ve come to rely on review site Rtings.com for... Continue reading…

A teaser image from OnePlus India suggests it has a fitness tracker on the way soon. | Image: OnePlus OnePlus’ Indian Twitter account is teasing what appears to be the company’s first wearable fitness band. The company claims that the device, which Android Central previously reported will be called the OnePlus Band, will “help you achieve all your fitness goals and make your life easier.” It also suggested in a subsequent tweet that the band could track sleep. OnePlus’ tweet links to a page on Amazon India which says the device will feature a real-time heart rate tracker.In a tweet, tipster Ishan Agarwal subsequently shared some rumored specs for the unannounced device. He claims the OnePlus Band will feature 24/7 heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, sleep tracking, and will have 13 built-in exercise modes. In terms of specs, it’ll... Continue reading…

Qualcomm has officially announced the Snapdragon 480 5G, the company’s latest 5G-capable processor and the first in its Snapdragon 4-series of chips which power budget Android devices that tend to be far cheaper than most of Qualcomm’s 5G efforts to date.The news of a 4-series chip with 5G was originally teased at IFA 2020, but today’s announcement marks the first real details for the new processor. The Snapdragon 480 features an integrated Snapdragon X51 modem with support for both mmWave and sub-6GHz networks.The addition of 5G to the 4-series could be one of the biggest factors yet in making the next-generation networking standard more accessible to users around the world. Right now, most 5G phones tend to cost upward of $500 —... Continue reading…

Image: Marvel For the first time in what feels like ages, the entertainment I looked forward to most was a handful of monthly comic books about the X-Men. Week after week this fall — a time absolutely lousy with great books, movies, TV, and video games — what I really wanted most was to pour over words and pictures about Marvel Comics’ deep roster of mutants, and a story about them unlike any I’ve seen before.It can’t be understated how bold and interesting X-Men comics are right now. Following a soft reboot in the twin 2019 miniseries written by Jonathan Hickman with art by R.B. Silva and Pepe Larraz, House of X and Powers of X (the best place to start reading), the mutants of the Marvel Universe have banded together to form the mutant nation of... Continue reading…

Spongebob Squarepants More than 14 ViacomCBS networks, including Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, and Comedy Central are coming to Hulu with Live TV, the company announced today. Hulu is not announcing a price hike with the new additions at this time.This marks the first time that many of ViacomCBS’s networks are being made available to Hulu with Live TV subscribers. Other networks that come with the package include Paramount Network, VH1, CMT, Nick Jr., TV Land, BET Her, MTV2, NickToons, TeenNick, and MTV Classic. The multiyear expanded deal also ensures that Hulu with Live TV customers can retain access to CBS Sports Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, The CW, and Showtime.“Hulu continues to be a great partner, and this agreement ensures that Hulu + Live TV... Continue reading…

Image: Digital Slang Samsung’s upcoming true wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds Pro, have leaked again in a hands on video from YouTuber Digital Slang. As well as confirming the earbuds’ specs, and giving us an idea of how they look in the real word, the video also delivers some first impressions on how they perform. The YouTuber said he obtained the unannounced earbuds via a seller on Facebook, where SamMobile has reported others have also been selling them.Echoing previous reports, Digital Slang says that the earbuds have a dust and water resistance rating of IPX7, support wireless charging, and feature active noise-cancellation. There’s also a transparency mode which allows the wearer to hear what’s going on around them while wearing the earbuds.... Continue reading…

A case for the S21 Ultra with space for an optional S Pen. | Image: WinFuture Images of what appears to be an S Pen stylus and carrying case for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S21 Ultra have leaked online, WinFuture reports. They show a stylus that looks similar in appearance to Samsung’s previous S Pens, as well as a phone case that’s a little wider than the handset itself to allow space for the optional accessory. WinFuture reports that the stylus will be sold separately from the phone for just under €40 (around $49).This phone case is necessary because the S21 Ultra is rumored to support the S Pen but reportedly won’t have a dedicated slot to store it unlike Samsung’s Note devices. The stylus is reportedly an optional accessory for the S21 Ultra, rather than something that comes in the box like with the Note... Continue reading…

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images A judge in the United Kingdom has denied Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States, where he faces espionage charges for his work running WikiLeaks. The Guardian reports that the ruling was delivered in a criminal court this morning, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the judge noted that the risk of suicide is too high.Assange will now remain in British custody pending a bail application, and the US government is free to proceed with an appeal against the decision. This particular ruling is only related to the US request for extradition under an extradition treaty between the UK and US. The full ruling is available here.Initially detained by the UK for violating his bail conditions, Assange faces hacking and espionage... Continue reading…

Microsoft is planning a “sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows” that is designed to signal to users of the operating system that “Windows is BACK.” That’s according to a job listing posted by Microsoft recently, advertising for a software engineering role in the Windows Core User Experiences team:

Curved screens can offer a more immersive experience while gaming. | Image; LG Display LG Display’s latest prototype is a 48-inch flexible OLED panel that can be bent for gaming or flattened for watching TV. The company has shown off similar bendable TV prototypes before, like when it demonstrated a 65-inch TV meant for use inside planes that could bend into a curve for passengers to watch movies. This model, which is being shown off at this year’s virtual CES, features LG Display’s Cinematic Sound OLED (CSO) technology, which vibrates the screen to produce audio.The 48-inch TV could potentially offer the immersive benefits of a curved screen while gaming without forcing you to live with a curved screen’s many downsides when you just want to watch TV. You can briefly see the panel in action at the 19 second mark in LG... Continue reading…

Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Failed mobile-first streaming service Quibi is in advanced discussions to sell the rights to its content library to Roku, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report doesn’t indicate a potential price for the acquisition, and notes that the two parties may not reach a deal.If it were to happen, the deal could give the Roku Channel exclusive access to Quibi’s slate of programming. None of Quibi’s shows ever really took off, but Roku may feel that the content would stand a better chance when available on the best-selling streaming devices in the US.Quibi announced it was shutting down back in October, just six months after its much-hyped launch. The service was headed by former HP CEO Meg Whitman and former Disney chairman and... Continue reading…

Image: Android Police Samsung will officially be announcing its latest lineup of Galaxy flagship phones — rumored to be the Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra — on January 14th, the company confirmed through invitations to a new Galaxy Unpacked event. The tagline: “Welcome to the Everyday Epic.” The event will kick off at 7AM PT / 10AM ET.The company is widely expected to announce three new smartphones at the event, successors to last year’s Galaxy S20 lineup: a pair of matching S21 and S21 Plus phones (that are expected to be largely similar, except for size), and a more premium S21 Ultra model that will offer even better specs and cameras, similar to its 2020 counterpart, in addition to a curved display and support for Samsung’s S-Pen stylus.There’s not... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile suffered a security breach in December that may have exposed call-related information and phone numbers for some of its customers. First reported by Bleeping Computer, the information affected by the breach did not include names on customers’ accounts, physical or email addresses, financial data, credit card information, Social Security numbers, tax IDs, passwords, or PINs, the company said.T-Mobile said in a statement emailed to The Verge that it had notified “less than 0.2 percent” of its customers— which works out to about 200,000 people— that some account information may have been illegally accessed. That information “may have included phone numbers, number of lines subscribed to and in a small number of cases some... Continue reading…

Robin Wright in Land | Focus Features The best thing I have watched in 2021 so far is the Ratatouille TikTok musical, it’s charming and the performances —by some big Broadway stars— are excellent. If you haven’t purchased your ticket yet (prices are on a pay-what-you-can scale), there’s still time; it will stream until January 4th. Ticket proceeds benefit the Actors Fund, a worthy cause. Be warned that the songs will definitely get stuck in your head, just like any good musical number does.In other news I just started Bridgerton... will report back. Saucy so far.It’s kind of slim pickins this week for new trailers, but I found a couple of interesting ones that all happen to feature strong female protagonists, a fine tone to set for 2021.Pretend It’s a CityIt’s no... Continue reading…